Labor Council In Wisconsin Tells GOPers To Stay Away From Local Labor Day Parade

By Eric Kleefeld

August 29, 2011 5:43 am

It seems not even the annual Labor Day parades are immune from partisan polarization in Wisconsin, in the wake of the political battles over Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-public employee union legislation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Republican politicians in the Wausau area have been told to stay away from this year’s parade.

“Usually they’ve been in the parade, but it seems like they only want to stand with us one day a year, and the other 364 days they don’t really care,” said Randy Radtke, president of the Marathon County Central Labor Council, which organizes the parade.The Journal Sentinel reports:

In a statement, Radtke added that the parade is intended to celebrate working men and women and what the labor movement has given them: weekends, a 40-hour workweek, child labor protection and a safe working environment.

“It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker’s rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain,” Radtke said.